Worth It
by madbutterfly
Summary: Ed and Al make it back to Amestris after six long years. Ed wants to confess his feelings to Roy Mustang. Will he be able to pluck up the courage? Roy/Ed with Al/Winry on the side. Set post-movie.
1. Chapter 1

**Post-movie, only without Roy going to be miserable in the snow. Probably has spoilers for the movie. I haven't written it yet so I don't know. :P Chances are it will. And also, I have my doubts about whether I'm right about what they wanted to do with the Gate. It has been a long time since I watched the movie because it upsets me. Just bear with me, okay?**

**I wrote this while very distracted by some insane people so I don't know how this will turn out. *~***

--------------

It had taken so long... Edward Elric had been in Germany for a total of six years. He'd made it back to Amestris two years in, of course, but it was very brief and he hadn't had much of a chance to take it in or appreciate it. After going back to Germany, with Al following this time, they'd spent four years researching how to destroy the Gate from their side without using alchemy.

And after these four years, they'd finally managed it, but it hadn't happened quite how they'd expected. After Edward and Alphonse had destroyed it, they'd both blacked out, and they couldn't remember anything after that.

-

Alphonse was the first to wake up. He'd awoken in a bed in Resembool, with a bed next to him containing his apparently unconscious older brother.

He'd sat up awkwardly and frowned in confusion, rubbing his eyes in order to focus properly.

"Wha...?" he said, looking around. He recognised this room. It was a room in the Rockbells' house, he recognised it immediately. He'd spent a lot of time in this room, though admittedly he didn't remember it having beds in it. Although, Al conceded, he had been absent for the past four years.

He wriggled upright and eased himself out of bed, trying to ignore the stiffness overwhelming his body.

He padded over towards the door and cracked it open, and was greeted with a gasp.

The gasp belonged to Winry, who had been coming out of her bedroom that was next to the room Ed and Al had been put up in.

"_Alphonse!_" she squeaked out, running up to him and throwing her arms around his shoulder. "Oh my God, I thought you'd never wake up! I never thought you'd come _back_ either! Oh I'm so glad you're alright..." She pulled away and sighed. "I mean... well... how did you do it? You and Edward said you'd destroy the Gate from the other side. Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted you're home, but does this mean you abandoned your mission?"

Al smiled shyly. "We were there four years, we weren't willing to give up after that long. That said... I'm not really sure what happened. One minute we were outside the Gate and attempting to seal it, next minute... we're here."

Winry just smiled at him for a moment.

"What?" he asked, slightly nervously. Her intent stare was unnerving him.

Her smile widened warmly. "Your voice has just gotten deeper, that's all," she giggled.

Al didn't know what to say, and so just stood there blushing.

"Uhm... your brother, Alphonse. Has he woken up too?"

"Brother was out cold when I got up just now. Is he okay? When will he wake up?"

"Well I don't know," Winry's smile faded. "I mean, we didn't know that either of you would ever wake up. I'm just surprised you're up now..."

"How long was I down for?"

"I found you two six days ago in one of the nearby fields and you were unconscious then."

"In one of the fields... how did we get there?"

Winry paused for a bit. "I don't know. Well, maybe you succeeded in your mission to destroy the portal between worlds and you were forced back here because you don't belong... on the other side."

Al shrugged, not being able to think of any other logical explanation of how they'd made it back. "I guess so..." He trailed off. "I hope Brother's okay."

Winry smile came back. "I'm sure he is! Hey, you are, right? That's a good sign, it means that chances are he's alright too..." There was a hint of doubt in her voice, but her tone was still optimistic and cheerful, which rubbed off on Al and made him feel better about whatever this situation was as well. "Oh, wow, I'm just so happy you're alright, you're _here_!" She pulled him down into a forceful hug again. "I missed you two so much..."

Alphonse brought his arms up slowly to return the hug rather than just stand there like a statue. Somehow, when she was hugging him, the entire situation seemed a whole lot brighter.

-

Alphonse had barely moved from Edward's side for the past three days, other than when it was absolutely necessary. He hadn't wanted to leave him. He said he wanted to be there when Ed woke up. On the fourth day, Winry came in the morning, as usual, to ask Al is he wanted to come down to breakfast or if she should bring it up to him again.

He glanced up with anxious eyes. "I saw Brother shift slightly. That's new."

Winry sighed. "I know you want to stay by his side but he'll be okay if he wakes up without you here. You woke up alone too, didn't you? And you were fine."

"Well, I saw that Brother was next to me... it's kinda different."

"Um...I guess...look, I'll bring breakfast up to you Alphonse, okay? Just consider what you're doing and ask yourself if it's really necessary."

"It is necessary... I know you don't get it Winry, but just try to understand how I feel. I don't want to leave him yet."

Winry sighed, again, and hastily exited the room. She knew deep down that she was never going to convince Alphonse to leave Ed's side, but that didn't mean she couldn't try.

She was just pouring herself some tea when she heard a high-pitched squealing sort of sound from upstairs. She flinched and nearly dropped the teapot, thankfully regaining her composure just in time to avoiding smashing the china all over the tiles of her kitchen. Winry set the teapot down nervously with shaking hands and headed upstairs and quickly as she could without being too loud about it.

Edward had apparently opened his eyes, the shriek coming from Al as he noticed the movement.

When Winry opened the door to the room, Al had thrown himself against Ed and was hugging him.

"Thank goodness you're okay Brother!" he was saying. Winry smiled softly and stepped into the room.

"So Edward, you finally woke up?" she said pleasantly, bringing herself to Al's side and prying him off of his stunned-looking brother who was now sitting up in bed.

"I...eh...huh?" Ed said intelligently, bringing his hand up to shakily rub the back of his head with his prosthetic arm.

Winry giggled. "You were unconscious for about ten days there, Ed. You feeling alright?"

"...Groggy," Ed grunted and blinked. "Uh...Winry? What are... what just happened?"

Al just smiled. "Brother, I think we might have done it."

Edward seemed to come round a little more. "You mean... the Gate...?" he said slowly, as if he didn't dare hope it to be true.

Alphonse nodded.

"Oh hell, Al, are you sure?" he said, sounding a bit more like himself and less like a half-asleep zombie.

"Well, no," admitted Al uneasily. "But I really think we did. Think about it, why else would we be back in Am-"

"Wait, Winry?!" Ed interrupted him. "Al, are we in Resembool?! What the hell happened?! Someone has to explain this to me!"

"I'm trying to, Brother!" Al said indignantly. "If you'd only listen! I think we managed to do it. If you remember? Can you?"

"I think so... I remember being outside the Gate... and... it's all a bit blurry." Winry tilted her head to one side. He didn't really sound how she remembered. He sounded quieter. Basically more adult, more mature, which she knew she should have expected after six years, but he seemed so out of character it was a little upsetting for her. Her image of Ed was still of the sixteen-year-old he'd been when he'd left, and to a lesser extent of how he was when he came back to Amestris at eighteen, and of course now after an additional four years he'd changed a lot, more than she'd realised.

"Yes, it is for me too. But while you were unconscious, me and Winry were discussing it, and we think that we succeeded, but because we don't belong in Germany, on that side of the Gate, we were somehow forced back into Amestris."

A fire seemed to light behind Ed's eyes.

"Do you think it's permanent?" he said testily, as if not wanting to get his hopes up. "I don't want to... I don't want to settle in here if we're just going to have to go back."

"I think it is, Brother. I mean of course I'm not sure... but I really get this feeling that we're here for good."

"Ah, hell," Edward said, stretching out. "I feel like shit. Mind if I go take a shower, Win?"

"Oh, of course!" Winry stood up abruptly. She showed Ed where the bathroom was, and he thanked her and scuttled in as fast as he could.

"You think things could maybe go back to normal now?" Al asked, approaching her from behind. She turned and grinned.

"I hope so," she said. "It's been far too long, Alphonse. You don't know how much I missed you and Edward..." She gave him another hug. She'd been doing that a lot recently. Al realised that it was probably her wanting to make sure that he was real, that he wasn't going away again. He didn't seem to notice how much affection was behind it.

Meanwhile Ed had got into the shower, already planning what he was going to as soon as he felt up to it.

His plan was to go to Central. There was a certain someone there who he wanted to see.

It may have been six years, but his feelings hadn't changed. He'd always vowed that should he ever make it back to Amestris, he would confront a certain Roy Mustang about...about whatever this was he'd been feeling. And hell if he was backing out now.

--------------

**That absolutely did not turn out how I wanted it to. D: I wanted to make it a one-shot but then I thought, maybe I'll split it up... anyone think this is worth continuing? If it isn't I'll probably carry on anyway but it'd be nice to see what you guys think.**

**I apologise for any errors, I wrote this when I was very tired and I wasn't fully concentrating. I tried to catch all of them when I reread it... I'll try and fix any that I missed as soon as I can.**

**Review to make me very, very happy?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I thought I knew where I was going with this, but I put off writing it, and I when I got round to it I forgot what I was going to write.**

**On a totally unrelated note, 'There She Goes' by the La's is such a great song. I love it - dunno why, but I do. I was listening to it while I was checking this for errors. And ginger snaps are the most delicious things ever.**

**Anyway... Chapter 2. Tell me what you think of it.**

-----------

Two days later Ed had decided that he was going to head to Central. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do there, but had decided to not think it through too much. He knew he'd just end up obsessing over it, freak out and not go through with it if he did.

He didn't even really know what he was going to confess to. Love? It wasn't love... it _wasn't_. He wouldn't let it be love. He didn't know what it was and he didn't care, but he wanted to confess to it, whatever it was.

Of course, not knowing what he wanted to confess to made things a little tricky, but he was going to do it anyway. Since when did Edward Elric think things through? Despite the fact that he was now twenty-two, he was still as rash and impulsive as he had always been. _That_ would most likely never change.

Still, he couldn't help but be nervous. He could shake the feeling that he would be rejected.

'_Stupid bastard will just laugh, I know it!_' Edward thought to himself. '_Then he'll smirk that stupid smirk of his... I hate him. Gah._' He didn't know who he was kidding. He didn't hate him. Roy Mustang was infuriating and smug and so annoying... but Ed found it impossible to hate him. Quite the opposite, in fact, although he didn't want to admit that to anyone, not even himself.

He sighed. '_Well, I guess I better tell Al and Winry that I'm going to Central..._' He hadn't told either of them yet. Winry was so happy they were back - he didn't have the heart to tell her that he was leaving so soon. He hadn't told Al because then Winry would undoubtedly find out immediately, what with all the time the two of them had been spending together recently.

"Hey, um, Al? Can I... talk to you?" he said, sounding uncharacteristically nervous.

Al grinned. "Of course Brother!" he chirped. Winry glanced up from the automail she had been working on, trying to blend into the background. She got the feeling that Ed didn't want her to hear, and of course that made her extremely curious. Maybe if she could just... be inconspicuous... he wouldn't notice her and then she could-

"Winry? You too," Ed said, wondering why the blonde girl was pressing herself against the wall with her hair covering her face.

Winry raced over into the living room like a shot, delighted that she wasn't being shooed from the room and being left out of it. She hated it when Ed and Al didn't tell her what was going on, so she would certainly make the most of it when they were willing to include her.

"Um... okay. Well, I have to... today or tomorrow, I'm going to be heading to Central. I want to sort something out there and-"

"Ed, no!" Winry yelped, cutting him off. If Ed was going, Al would almost definitely go too. She didn't want either of them to leave, not when they'd only just got back! "You've only just managed to get home... please... you two can't leave me again! You have no idea how much I missed you!" She forced back the tears that were threatening to spill from her big blue eyes, not wanting Edward to think she was trying to make him feel guilty.

"Brother... why?" Al said, more calmly. "What could possibly be in Central that could make you want to leave all over again?"

"I'm not leaving all over again! Honestly, that's such an exaggeration Al. There's a difference between going to another city and going to another world. And I probably won't be there for very long." '_Because that bastard is bound to reject me... ugh,_' he added in his mind.

Al bit his lip. "But still... why?"

"I...I'd rather not say just yet. Are you okay with that?"

"Y-yes..." Al obviously wasn't, but he didn't want to interrogate his brother. He figured that when Ed wanted to tell him, he would.

"Al, please tell me you aren't going too!" Winry turned to Al.

"I don't know..." Al admitted. "Honestly, I'd rather stay here... are you okay with that, Brother?"

"Actually Al, I'd prefer it if you did too. This is something I need to sort out by myself."

Al nodded. "I understand. See, Winry, I'm not going."

Winry smiled and hugged him again. She wondered if Al would ever realise the reason behind these hugs. At the moment he didn't seem to, despite how frequent they were. Still, she decided that she could keep trying. Alphonse was meant to be the perceptive brother - he couldn't be that oblivious, surely.

"Well, I'm not happy about you going, but okay," Al grumbled. "I just wish you'd tell me why!"

Ed laughed as best he could. "It's honestly not all that important Al - I might tell you when I get back. Or even before. Don't worry about it."

-

Edward sat down on the train, bringing his legs up to his chest and leaning his forehead on one of them. Part of him was excited, part of him was incredibly scared. He wondered if Roy would set him on fire for this. After deciding that his aim would probably be off due to the fact that one eye was covered by his eyepatch, he nearly stopped worrying. Nearly. Just the fact that he could get rejected was enough to worry him to no end.

He'd waited so long for this, he didn't want to get shot down now.

Ed shook his head. He couldn't worry about this. He'd already told himself that he wouldn't think it through too much. He'd thought about it enough while living in Germany, he didn't need to anymore - if he did he'd only end up backing down and he wouldn't let that happen. He had waited for years...

He smiled to himself. He couldn't decide whether he was happy or not. The prospect of _not_ getting rejected was worth the risk, in his opinion.

The train ride was fairly uneventful. A pretty brown-haired girl had tried to talk to him at one point, saying he looked lonely and offering to keep him company, but his thoughts had kept drifting back to Roy and he couldn't seem to maintain a conversation with her, despite her best efforts. She sat there with him in an awkward silence for a few minutes and then excused herself, saying she needed to use the ladies' room. Ed hadn't expected her to come back, and she didn't. He was glad. She was a nice girl but he didn't think he could talk to anyone right now if he tried. He also got the vague impression that she was trying to flirt with him, and that made him uneasy.

Just for something to do, he undid he ponytail and redid it again. It was actually a bit messier once he'd redone it than before, but he didn't care enough to make any effort to change that.

He figured he'd be staying in Central a few days at least, maybe more if he wasn't shot down like he expected to be. It was a long trip from Resembool to Central City. He'd brought a few changes of clothes in order to keep him going for those few days, but not enough to last him much longer - they all easily fit in his smallest suitcase with room to spare.

After sorting out his hotel arrangements, he immediately went to his hotel room and locked himself in. He could barely believe this was real. Was he really going to _do_ this?! Or was he acting crazy? He shook his head. _Why_ was he doing this, anyway? Roy probably had a wife or girlfriend by now, anyway... to think that he could be interested in Edward, a guy, whom he hadn't seen in years and had never been on especially good terms with, was just silly, Ed decided. It'd be safer just to go home to Resembool, find someone decent and settle with them. Then pretend this never happened and try to forget his feelings. This thought very nearly made him hop on the next train to Resembool and do just that, but he managed to contain himself. He wasn't going to give up now, goddammit!

-

Roy Mustang tapped his pen against his lip, staring into space. It was days like this where he just couldn't be bothered. All this paperwork... he'd incinerate it all if he could, but last time he'd done it, Hawkeye had gotten mad at him and said if he did it again she'd shoot him. He didn't know how serious she was, but that woman was scary and he'd rather not risk it.

He vaguely registered hearing some gasping and excited voices outside his office, but was daydreaming by now and didn't pay much attention to it. It'd probably end soon enough...

Eventually the noise died down, although he barely noticed. He was too busy thinking about various important things, mainly what he needed to buy at the grocery store and whether there were any cute girls working there who he could hit on. Both of these were much more important than his paperwork, of course.

He bit down on his pen harshly, nearly hard enough to break it and make ink spill into his mouth, but not quite. He was so bored he was really starting to go to sleep. He felt his eyelids drooping slowly and blinked hard, trying to wake himself up. If he fell asleep at work, Hawkeye would kill him. At least if he was awake he could pretend to be doing his paperwork if she came in to check on him.

Then there a slight crashing noise from outside, and a banging as someone kicked open the doors to his office.

His eye focussed on a short figure with blond hair and blazing golden eyes staring straight at him, a look of stubborn determination plastered across his face.

"Hey, bastard."

Well, there was absolutely no risk whatsoever of Roy falling asleep now.

-----------

**"a guy, whom he hadn't seen in years": Ugh! I obsessed for ages over whether that would be 'who' or 'whom'. I'm still not satisfied. Why was I never taught the rule on this?!**

**Just review, dammit. I live off reviews. They motivate me. :D And I am a generally a very unmotivated person who procrastinates like hell. :P Please? *puppy eyes***


	3. Chapter 3

**This was a lot harder to write than I anticipated it being. Thank you, people who favourited this or put it on alert and **_**especially**_** thanks to the people who've reviewed~ :)**

-----------

Roy immediately dropped his pen from his mouth onto the desk in front of him, where it landed with a clatter that seemed embarrassingly loud in the silence that filled the room.

He blinked dumbly. How could this be real? He'd probably fallen asleep. It wouldn't be unusual for this golden-haired man to appear in his dreams, after all, taunting him. Haunting him. And the real Edward surely couldn't be here. It wouldn't make any sense - Roy had destroyed the Gate from his side and Edward was going to destroy it from the other.

After pinching himself subtly under the desk and coming to the conclusion that he was indeed awake, he just sat there stupidly, uncertain of what to say. It was one of those rare times that General Roy Mustang was speechless.

"Bastard," Ed repeated blankly.

The Flame Alchemist opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut it again afterwards.

"Edward," he replied simply, hoping that Ed would now take over the conversation.

"Bastard," Ed said back.

Knowing that this could go around in circles, Roy coughed awkwardly and motioned for Ed to sit down in the chair near to his desk. It was all he could think to do in the situation.

After sitting for a few minutes in silence, Roy felt himself getting rather frustrated and realised that he would probably have to be the first one to say something.

"Edward, I need you to explain everything. You can't expect to just barge your way in here without explaining what happened."

Ed sighed and fiddled with the cuff of his shirt. "I...I don't know what happened," he admitted, his voice lowering slightly. "Me and Al, we think we did it." He looked up at Mustang in a slightly hopeful way, although hopeful for what Roy didn't know.

"You think you destroyed the Gate?" Roy said flatly. Edward nodded and Roy leaned forward, resting his chin on his interlinked fingers. "If that is indeed the case, how can you be back in this world?"

"Well we don't know that either!" Ed said, trying to keep his voice level. "Winry thought maybe that 'cause we don't belong on the other side the Gate forced us back here or something! But I don't _know_ and that drives me crazy!"

"That could well be it..." was all Roy said in response, not knowing quite what else he _could_ say.

There was a silence, neither knowing what to say.

"I came to Central Headquarters for a reason, you know," murmured Ed, his voice starting to shake slightly. Roy found it strangely endearing.

"And that is...?" Roy prompted him.

Edward didn't respond at first. How could he say this? He searched for the words in his mind. He didn't even know what he meant to say. Some part of his brain registered that Roy had said his name, trying to urge him on to say what was on his mind.

The blond didn't respond and just shut his eyes, fighting back the butterflies in his stomach. He glanced up at Roy shyly, and then immediately looked away again when those dark eyes met his own.

Ed heaved a sigh. '_Screw this,_' he thought.

"Mustang, I-" he cut himself off and bit his lip.

"Ed, whatever it is, just spit it out," Roy said, getting impatient. Whatever Ed was obsessing over and trying to say couldn't be _that_ hard to come out with. "It can't be that bad." He smiled reassuringly, but Ed wasn't looking at him so it didn't have any effect.

Ed stood up, stretched out and chuckled lowly. Moment of truth, moment of truth...

The gap between Roy and Ed was closed in an instant as Ed swooped over to the desk, leaned over it, and captured Roy's lips with his own.

-

As quick as the kiss had started, it was over. Ed was put off by the fact that Roy wasn't returning the kiss, just sitting motionless in his chair. While he wasn't exactly rejecting him, he wasn't responding either. Ed came to the conclusion that it was only shock that kept Roy from grabbing his gloves and burning him to a crisps. Edward withdrew quickly, bright red.

Roy just sat there, staring. What the hell had just happened? Ed...had just...kissed him? Really?

"Th-that's what I came here for," Ed forced out, resisting the urge to run like the dickens out the door. All he wanted to do now was be back with Al and Winry (Pinako had unfortunately passed away two years prior to their return). He wished he'd never done this. How _stupid_ he was...

However, Mustang didn't respond at all. He just looked at him blankly. That was in a way even more frightening than if he'd started yelling at Edward. He wasn't revealing his emotions in any way and that was rather disconcerting.

'_Why did I do this...I'm such an idiot..._' Ed thought dejectedly, and decided that this would be the moment to turn on his heel and shoot out the office, out of Central Headquarters altogether, and make his way back to his hotel room.

"EDWARD ELRIC, GET BACK HERE NOW!" Roy yelled, finding his voice at seeing the younger alchemist make a dash for it. He stood up quickly, knocking his chair back and following him out of the building.

'_Oh crap!_' Ed thought. '_Don't stop don't stop don't stop or he'll catch up..._' He knew that it would only take a click of Roy's fingers and he'd be charcoaled. That was a scenario he would rather avoid.

Unfortunately, although Ed was light and quick on his feet, the fact that Roy had longer legs gave him the advantage, and halfway down the street Roy managed to snag the back of Ed's collar.

Ed coughed and jerked to a halt, eyes tearing up even more than they already were. Why couldn't the bastard just leave him alone? This was so humiliating!

"Ed!" Roy panted out. Ed didn't turn round, so Roy caught him by the arms and made him do just that. "Edward, you do _not_ do something like that and then just run off! Don't you ever do that again, you hear me?!"

"I'm sorry... just let me go and I'll leave you alone, you can forget all about it..." Ed mumbled, rubbing his eyes and trying to make it seem like he _hadn't_ just been crying.

Roy frowned. "Not that," he replied. "Not...not the kiss. Do not run away after doing something that significant. Do. Not. Do. It."

Ed looked up blearily. "Oh."

There was a silence for a few minutes, Roy's hands still clutching his arms, a bit too tightly.

Then, Ed thought he must be dreaming, because he suddenly felt a soft pair of lips descend on his own, and he was faced with the fact that Roy Mustang was actually kissing him, and that he might actually return his feelings.

...Whatever those feelings may be.

-----------

**The characters apparently took on a mind of their own halfway through writing this and I no longer seemed to have any control over what was happening. Oh well.**

**Eheh...review even if you hated it...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay for improvising and having no idea what's going to happen next! I think my stories would work out better if I actually thought them through beforehand rather than just start with an idea and work on from there without any clue what the next event will be. :/**

-----------

This kiss was just as short as the last one - they couldn't make it last too long when they were still in the middle of the street, after all - but it didn't matter. Despite the length of it, there was something so _right_ about it, though neither could put their finger on what that was.

Roy broke away first, as Ed seemed to have gone into shock or something. He pulled back to see an open-mouthed Ed staring up at him, stunned and flushed but very happy.

"What...the...hell?" Ed somehow managed to get out, his voice thick.

Roy sighed and straightened up. He ran a hand through his hair lightly, trying to appear calmer than he actually was. He was aware that while his actions had seemed to be what Ed had wanted at first, there was a possibility that doing that had only angered Edward.

Ed coughed. "D-did you really just do that?"

Roy looked back up at the building they were in front of. "Hey... do you think we could continue this conversation back inside my office, Edward?"

"Oh! Oh, yes, of course," Ed said quickly, allowing himself to be led back into Central Headquarters. He'd almost forgotten that they were standing out in the street.

Once they were back inside, they resumed the positions they'd been in before Ed had kissed Roy - Roy behind his desk, Ed on the chair in front of him.

"Are you really okay with what I did?" Ed asked, fiddling with his cuff again. Anything to avoid looking Roy in the eye. He didn't know what he'd do if Roy's answer was no - although after he had just done the same to Ed, it was pretty unlikely that this would be the case.

Roy laughed under his breath. "What did I do outside, Ed, and what does that tell you?"

"That...you...are?" Ed asked stupidly.

Roy laughed goodnaturedly - he hadn't actually been expecting Ed to answer that.

"So do you...um...like me back?" he squeaked, suddenly looking and sounding a lot younger than he was.

"Yes, Ed," Roy smiled back. "I don't make a habit of kissing people I don't like."

Ed smiled weakly. "I guess..." He didn't look convinced.

Roy grinned crookedly. "You don't have to look so scared of me, I'm not going to kill you. Come here."

Edward stood shakily and walked over to Roy's desk, only to find himself pulled into Roy's lap. He didn't make any move to pull away, just looked up at Roy, his eyes wide and round in surprise. "What was that for, bastard?" he said, feeling silly sitting in someone's lap at his age.

"I just felt like it. And I want to convince you that I _do_ like you back."

Ed sighed, buried his head in the crook of Roy's neck and took in his scent, a mixture of cologne and fireworks. In all honesty he didn't think that Roy really _had_ to, he believed him as it was, but the idea of him proving it really sounded quite fun.

He glanced up at him coyly. "Oh yes? And how do you intend to prove this, hmm?"

Roy grinned. "I might have an idea," he said as he kissed him again, wondering at the back of his mind whether he'd locked the door or not.

Ed didn't show any resistance to the kiss. He couldn't have done if he'd wanted to - it made him feel weak and gave him goosebumps. None of this felt real. He'd geared himself up to be rejected, and the opposite had happened.

Halfway through the series of kisses Roy and Ed were planting on each other, Edward noticed how dark it was starting to get in the room, and broke away to peer out of the window behind them.

"Umm... I should probably be getting back to my hotel room..." he said reluctantly, not really wanting to go back. Roy's lap was warm and comforting and outside looked cold and unappealing. Even so, his logical side knew that it would only be harder to leave the longer he stayed and it would be even darker later. Of course he wasn't afraid of the dark, but he knew better than to wander around the streets of Central at night without his automail to protect himself. He made a mental note to get Winry to replace his prosthetic limbs with automail as soon as he got back to Resembool.

Roy let him get up, even though he just wanted to grab into a hug and tell him to stay just a little longer.

"Okay... well, uhh... I'll probably be going back to Resembool soon," Ed said. "Um, um-"

"If you want to give me the number to your hotel or the house in Resembool, feel free," Roy smirked (the first he'd done in a while, Ed noted, surpised that he'd gone so long without smirking), catching onto what Edward was trying to do.

The younger man smiled weakly in return. "...Yeah, that," he murmured distractedly, fishing a piece of paper from his pocket and taking a pen from Roy's desk, scribbling two numbers on the paper before handing it to Roy. "_This_ is the hotel number, but _this_ is the one for Winry's house and will probably be more useful."

Roy took the paper and nodded, trying to keep his expression calm - he felt like he was going to start grinning like an idiot, and he didn't want that.

"Okay, uhh, I'll just be going then," Ed said uneasily, giving Roy a little wave before darting out of the room, doing his best to conceal his blush.

"Goodbye, Edward."

Roy got up to turn the lights on, trying to ignore the strange empty feeling that came with Edward's absence.

-----------

**I'm basically putting off doing my homework. I am wasting my time writing stuff instead. And this ended up crappy. Sorry!! T.T I also might not be updating very often now as I have a bunch of reading I have to do, as well as a very long essay that I have no idea how to go about writing. :/**

**Reviews are love~!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! I wonder if anyone remembers this! I last updated October 26th 2009... I didn't forget about this, I was just completely and utterly stumped about where to go with it. Instead of really going anywhere in particular, I wrote... this. I have some ideas of where to go now! :D**

* * *

Ed walked back to his hotel room in what could only be described as a daze, just repeating that one moment that Roy had kissed him over and over in his mind. How surreal... He'd come to Central on a very specific mission, but he hadn't truly believed it'd actually pan out the way he wanted. It was more to get it off his mind, to get some closure, to make himself realise it wouldn't happen, no matter how badly he wanted it to...

...And yet it _had_ happened. How wonderful. How weird.

The door slammed behind him and he locked it abruptly, not even noticing as a slow smirk spread across his face. He didn't know what exactly had happened, or what it truly meant, but it was certainly _something_, and that was more than he could have hoped for.

"_YES!_" he shouted suddenly to the empty room, grinning openly now. "Yes, yes, _yes_!" he said, marginally quieter this time, just in case someone in a neighbouring room heard him and complained. He flopped down onto the bed and thought for a moment. He had to go back to Resembool soon. He found he was dying to tell Al anyway. He didn't know how he'd take it, but he just had to believe that Al would support him in it - Al had accepted all that Ed had done in the past... right?

Edward nodded to himself. After all Ed had done, Al had forgiven him, he wouldn't hold anything like this against him.

He would probably come back to Central after that. Resembool was fine, but it _was_ quite dull... he didn't want to leave his brother behind, but he could always visit, and they weren't nearly as dependent on each other now as they had been. He wanted to catch up with Havoc, Hawkeye and the rest too. He'd spoken to them briefly before barging into Mustang's office, but it had been quite hurried and no real explanations had been given.

He sighed happily and got up again, walking over to the other side of the room where his rucksack lay. He'd only taken one bag with him, not anticipating staying long enough to need many changes of clothes. He thought he might as well get ready for bed now. His mind was buzzing with excitement and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, but he was at a loss now and didn't know what else to do.

Just as he'd finished changing into his pyjamas, a quiet knocking sounded on his door. Ed immediately stiffened, thoughts of homunculi and serial killers leaping into his head. Even so, he couldn't just leave the person out there, and if they wanted to kill him they probably would have just broken in already.

Ignoring the fact that he was in his pyjamas, he shuffled over to the door and opened it just a crack, smiling when he saw Roy standing there, looking a bit awkward. It was strange for Edward to see Roy in anything other than his uniform, but it was a good look for him. It made him seem more approachable, less like General Mustang and more like Roy.

"Hey..." Roy murmured, eyeing the pyjamas. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Ed shook his head. "Nope. Uh, come in..." He stood to one side to allow the older man access to the hotel room. "What is it, anyway?" he smiled. He felt a lot more comfortable around Roy now. He wasn't sure why - he could only assume it was because he'd seen a different side to him that afternoon, a warmer, almost softer side that he had never expected to see - had never expected Mustang to even _have_.

Roy stepped into the hotel room, glancing about as if there was something especially intriguing about it. The door clicked shut behind him.

"I don't know," Roy said abruptly. "It's just... I'm having difficulty really believing that you're here again." He turned around and cupped Edward's cheek, gently stroking with his thumb. "I guess I wanted to make sure you're real... that it's not a dream." It wouldn't be the first time he'd dreamt that Ed was back, after all - not that he would ever let the blond know that.

Ed rubbed the side of his nose, trying to ignore the way his skin was tingling where Roy was touching it. "I'm having some difficulty believing it too. I feel like any moment I could wake up and find myself back in Germany... back to researching with Al... if this is a dream, I never want to wake up."

"Germany?" Roy questioned softly, his one visible eyebrow furrowing slightly.

"That's the name of the country where me and Al were, on the other side of the Gate."

Roy made a 'hmm' noise and dropped his hand from Ed's cheek down to his shoulder. "You'll have to tell me about it. What it was like there..."

Ed sighed and shifted. "Not tonight. There's too much to tell and it's too late to go into it. Maybe tomorrow... at some point, anyway." He didn't want to think about it anyway. He wanted to focus on being back in Amestris for now.

On a whim, he leant up and kissed Roy on the lips. It was easier than it would once have been - he had grown since he'd been away. He wasn't as tall as Roy, but he wasn't exceptionally short either.

He'd only really meant it to be a brief kiss, but Roy had other ideas and didn't pull away when Ed expected him to - not that Ed was complaining, of course.

Roy's lips were softer than he'd expected and he made a funny little sound when Roy broke the kiss, like he was upset about it ending. Of course, this wasn't so far from the truth.

Roy smirked. "That good, huh?" _Smug bastard._

Ed blushed and didn't know what to say to that, so instead he gripped Roy's forearms and pushed him slowly backwards until the backs of his legs hit the bed, making him sit down on it.

Mustang's eye widened for a moment, but then he grinned deviously and gave Ed a sneaky look. "So we can see eye to eye?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "5'6" isn't that short, bastard," he murmured, leaning forward so as he talked his lips lightly, teasingly, brushed against Roy's.

"Whatever you say, Shorty," the older alchemist replied, laughter in his uncovered eye.

Edward growled but didn't go off on a rant like he would have done when he was younger, just hissed, "Shut up, would you?" and leaned forward just a fraction more, which was all that was needed to connect their lips once more. He moved forward more, making it so that he was straddling Mustang's lap.

Ed nearly squeaked when he felt Mustang's tongue gently touching his lips, prodding as if to ask for entry. Ed immediately complied, his mind getting fuzzy. He'd never done anything like this before. In Germany he had never bothered having any sort of relationship with anyone other than Al and, prior to that, Alfons, and neither of those had been romantic relationships.

Ed let out a breathy whimper as he felt Roy's tongue lightly caressing his own, shifting awkwardly in the older man's lap and trying to will away the erection he felt beginning to form. He'd never live it down if he got hard now, just from kissing... Roy would probably never let him forget it.

Breaking away and gasping for breath, Edward looked up at Roy with hazy golden eyes, trying to say something, but his brain wasn't functioning right and he couldn't think of anything but how damn _good_ he felt.

Roy smirked and nudged his nose affectionately against Ed's briefly before pulling back. "Getting a bit excited, are we?" he said softly, kissing down Ed's neck until he reached the obstacle that was the collar of the blond's shirt.

"C-can't help it..." Ed gasped out, trying to press closer to his ex-commander. "Intense..."

Roy didn't respond, just huffed a bit at Ed's pyjama top, sliding his hands under it and pushing until he'd lifted it up and over Ed's head.

Tossing it across the room, he continued his passage down Ed's body, peppering kisses along tanned, toned skin. All of his instincts were telling him to just grab Ed by the shoulders, toss him on the bed and fuck him raw. But he knew he had to take this slowly. He really didn't want to mess up what he knew he could have with Ed by going too quickly and scaring him off. Ed had only been back in Central for one day, after all.

He sighed against Ed's shoulder, not wanting to stop but knowing that if he was going to, he had to do it now or he wouldn't be able to hold back.

"Edward..." he murmured. "Don't you think..." A sigh. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to _stop_. "That..." _Do it, Roy, do it now. You can't go any further or you won't be able to stop._ "Don't you think this is... too soon?" He shut his eye for a few moments, laid one scorching kiss on Ed's shoulder and lifted his head.

"W-why'd you come over if y-you're just going to tease me and then back off?" Edward panted. Golden eyes, hazy and lust-clouded, started to clear as he came back to his senses.

"I don't want to stop..." Mustang replied. His breath was shaky and it was hard to keep his voice from shaking as well. "Believe me, I don't... but you've only been back in Central for one day... shouldn't... we slow down?"

A breathy sort of laugh escaped Edward's lips and he nodded.

"I know, you're right..." he murmured. He straightened up and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "Too fast. You're right. Of course you're right, you always are..." Eyes of molten gold stole Roy's breath as they met his own single dark one and he wondered if he was insane for actually pointing out how quickly they were taking this.

"I should go," said Roy, a touch sadly. He didn't want to go, of course he didn't. But he had to. If he stayed, how could he be sure he could control himself?

Gold flashed in something similar to anger and a prosthetic hand closed tightly around his wrist.

"Stay," Ed said shortly. "I won't try anything and... I just... please. Just stay with me tonight."

Roy had to smile. Edward had fixed him with a puppy-eyed, pleading look, and how could he say no to that?

"I'll stay tonight," Roy conceded. Now that he'd been asked, he couldn't bring himself to leave, anyway.

It was with quiet familiarity that they slid into bed, side by side, and Roy tried not to grin like an idiot at the way Edward threw his leg possessively over the General's, as if to make sure he wouldn't disappear into the night.

Soft darkness enveloped them both, and they let the warmth and comfort slide them into sleep.

* * *

**That. Took. Me. Ages.**

**Months, in fact. :P**

**...And I don't **_**really**_** know why. I admit I was thinking about putting a lemon in this, but then I thought, hey, Ed's only been in Central a day. No way is this going to move **_**that**_** quickly. So I just left it out. Heh. -shrug-**

**Review?**


End file.
